Athletic shoes in today's age are viewed as being essential when it comes to playing an athletic sport, running, and training of any kind. Shoes coming in many varieties possessing various properties designed for optimal performance in a particular sport. For instance, basketball shoes are flexible and cushioned for optimal jumping ability and agility. Soccer cleats dig into dirt for maximized grip. However, most athletic shoes are not water-proof and athletes that participate in outdoor activities often have to endure wet, cold feet during times of inclement weather.
Athletic shoes are increasingly being made more lightweight to provide less resistance and improved performance. Lightweight shoes often include thinner soles and/or sidewalls. Additionally, shoes may include mesh or holes in the outer body of the shoe, which helps reduce the weight of the shoe, but also further reduce the warmth and protection afforded to a foot from poor weather conditions.
Unfavorable weather impacts many facets of an outdoor activity or sporting event, and particularly affects athletes, coaches, trainers, reporters, and spectators. During sporting events, such as soccer and football, athletes are constantly entering and exiting the game, and such transitions happen very quickly. As the athletes exit the game, they may stand or sit on the sidelines for a period of inactivity before re-entering the game. During this time, the athlete may be exposed to wet, cold, muddy, and often snowy conditions that may negatively affect the player when re-entering the game.
Protective overshoes have been designed for use during the performance of an activity. Such overshoes, however, do not afford a quick, easy mechanism for putting on or taking off the overshoe. Without a quick and easy way to put on or take off such overshoes, such overshoes are not optimally suited for wear by athletes who may desire to quickly put on the overshoe when exiting a game and remove the overshoe quickly to enter a game. Wearing a protective covering over an athletic shoe may negatively impact the performance properties of the shoe and the athlete wearing the shoe. Additionally, although conventional overshoes may provide protection from weather elements, the overshoes do not provide a warming mechanism, which may help dry a wet athletic shoe and provide warmth to a foot and improve a user's performance.